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communication

This shows a couple on chairs facing each other.

·March 31, 2025·7 min read

Fear of Emotions Fuels PTSD-Related Conflict in Romantic Relationships

New research reveals that fear of emotions may explain why individuals with PTSD symptoms often struggle to communicate with romantic partners. The study found that people with higher PTSD symptoms were more likely to fear strong emotions, which led to less constructive and more conflict-driven communication styles.

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·March 3, 2025·5 min read

How the Brain Transforms Speech Pitch into Meaning

A new study reveals that Heschl’s gyrus, once thought to only process sound, actually plays a crucial role in interpreting speech melody, or prosody. Researchers tracked brain activity in epilepsy patients with implanted electrodes and found that this region encodes pitch accents as meaningful linguistic signals, separate from word sounds.

This shows a dog and a communication board.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·December 10, 2024·5 min read

Dogs Using Soundboards Show Intentional Communication

Dogs trained to use soundboards can combine two-word buttons purposefully to communicate needs and desires, rather than randomly or by imitating their owners. Researchers analyzed over 260,000 button presses from 152 dogs, finding meaningful combinations like "outside + potty" occurring more often than chance.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·October 2, 2024·3 min read

Humans Slow Speech to Help Dogs Understand

A new study reveals that humans naturally slow their speech when talking to dogs, which helps dogs better understand commands. Researchers analyzed speech rates and brain responses in 30 dogs and 27 humans across five languages, finding that humans speak at around three syllables per second to their pets, compared to four syllables when talking to other humans.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 29, 2024·4 min read

Marmoset Monkeys Use Unique Calls to Name Each Other

Researchers have discovered that marmoset monkeys use specific vocal calls, known as "phee-calls," to identify and communicate with each other, a behavior previously observed only in humans, dolphins, and elephants. This ability to label others vocally suggests that marmosets possess advanced cognitive skills in social communication. The study also found that marmoset families share similar vocal labels, akin to names and dialects in humans. This discovery provides new insights into the evolution of social communication and language.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 22, 2024·4 min read

Chimps Use Gestures, Like Humans, to Communicate

Researchers have found that chimpanzees communicate with gestures in a rapid turn-taking pattern similar to human conversation. Studying over 8,500 gestures across five wild communities, they discovered that chimpanzees exchange gestures with pauses averaging 120 milliseconds.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 16, 2024·5 min read

Breaking Silence: Giving the Silent a Voice Through Thoughts

Researchers enabled a silent person to produce speech using thought alone. Depth electrodes in the participant's brain transmitted electrical signals to a computer, which then vocalized imagined syllables. This technology offers hope for paralyzed individuals to regain speech. The study marks a significant step towards brain-computer interfaces for voluntary communication.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 13, 2024·3 min read

Heat Waves Reduce Politicians’ Speech Complexity

High temperatures lead to simpler language in parliamentary speeches. Analyzing seven million speeches from 28,000 politicians, researchers discovered that heat negatively impacts cognitive abilities. This effect was more pronounced in older politicians. The findings highlight the broader impacts of climate change on human performance and decision-making.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 11, 2024·6 min read

Elephants Use Names to Call Each Other

Wild African elephants use name-like calls to address each other, a rare ability among nonhuman animals. Researchers confirmed this by using machine learning to analyze elephant calls and observing that elephants responded specifically to calls addressed to them.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 7, 2024·3 min read

Baboons’ Brain Anatomy Predicts Hand Preference for Communication

A study on newborn baby baboons' brain anatomy predicts their future hand preference for communication. Researchers found that baboons with left-side brain asymmetry in the planum temporale (PT) tend to use their right hand for gestures.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 15, 2024·6 min read

How Gossip Shapes Cooperation

A new study explores how gossip influences cooperation and behavior. Researchers found that gossip helps maintain social order by spreading information about reputations, which encourages cooperative behavior.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 11, 2024·6 min read

Friendly Chats Mitigate Social Exclusion Effects

Simple social interactions, like chatting with a friend, can mitigate the effects of social exclusion. The research found that both face-to-face conversations and anticipating future interactions help individuals recover quicker from social slights and feel more secure.